Between the Lines
by OblivionOath
Summary: You are a talented singer in America. Despite this, you're now on your way to an on-and-off tour in Japan. Good luck. You're going to need it. READER-INSERT! Rated T for safety. More details inside. R&R please!


**A/N:** As HoshixXxHikari080 is a friend of mine, she requested this.

**Summary:** You are [Last Name] [First Name], a talented singer in America. Despite this, you're now on your way to an on-and-off tour in Japan. Good luck. You're going to need it.

**Pairing:** Reader x Tezuka; _**might**_ change… maybe.

* * *

"What!?" You blinked repeatedly as the words slowly processed through your brain. You gaped, mouth opening and closing as you found no words to say.

"You're going to Japan!" Your manager smiled widely, as if she did _not_ just state one of the most outrageous ideas ever to come out of her (loud) mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, I get that! Why!?" You stressed hastily, curious about this whole ideal altogether.

"Don't ask me why you have more fans in Japan than in America. More fans equals more profit, I mean money, and fame. Therefore, you are going there on a tour." She shrugged her shoulders in an 'I-don't-care' way before going back to organizing the folders and papers scrambled on her desk.

"Okay… Okay… Then, well, for how long?" You asked, crossing your arms as you bended your left leg and leaned on it.

"Hm? Oh, about a year or—" She stated casually and you jumped forward, hands slamming your hands down on her desk.

"A YEAR?! I can't be on tour in Japan for a year! I mean, _no_ band does that!"

Her eye twitched slightly as she looked up at you. "Of course not. You're going to be on and off, but we're going to keep you over there because it's expensive to get you there in the first place, and the jet lag is going to kill you."

She stood up as she moved towards the cabinet at the corner of the room behind her desk. Unlocking the second, she skimmed through them while muttering, "Now what excuse do you have?"

Unfortunately for her, you heard her.

"Well, what about SCHOOL?!" You questioned. When in doubt, bring up studies. "It's my senior year; I can't miss it!"

"You're already applied to a high school over there, and your concerts and rehearsals don't clash with the school time. If everything goes right and you don't procrastinate, then you should have plenty of free time leftover," She shut the drawer as she finished, finally looking at you, before adding, "And before you ask, your living arrangements also have already been decided. That pen pal guy you've been talking to, yeah, you're gonna stay with him."

…This woman just thought of everything, didn't she? You deflated, sighing in defeat and slumping your shoulders in exaggeration, before crossing your arms and pouting. "Fineee… When am I leaving?"

"Your first concert will be sometime next weekend. You'll finish the rehearsals here before you leave. I'd say in about a week or so, but I suggest you start packing now. I'll give you more details tomorrow."

"Oh, okay…" You fell onto the loveseat behind you, twisting your body so your head will lay on the armrest while your legs dangled off. Both of you remained in silence. Your manager smirked a little from behind the standing-upright folder.

The blinking repeatedly, you shoved yourself off the couch, standing and pointing accursedly at your manager, "Hey! How did you get access of my email!?"

She sweatdropped. Well damn, maybe you weren't as stupid as she made you out to be.

* * *

"Stupid manager… getting me all worked up for nothing. Gah, I think I just ruined my singing voice with all that shouting." You muttered to yourself darkly as you paced around the room, piling as much clothes as you can in your arms: stage/performing clothes, casual clothes, weekend clothes, pajamas, dating clothes, formal wear, dresses, and comfortable clothes.

Although many categories, there really wasn't a lot in each.

…Okay, maybe that's a lie.

You are [First Name] [Last Name]. A fairly talented singer, you are seventeen and on your way to Japan. Living with your pen pal, who you've never seen before – you thought that sending pictures would ruin the magic in the anonymity – seemed to be the only interesting change. Thank goodness you took Japanese language when that teacher stayed at your school for a year. And there was the fact that a nice Japanese family, consisting of a young woman and a three-year-old toddler, lived next door.

Sighing, you started to fold your clothes into the bags. Considering that you didn't really need to bring much of anything, you decided that clothes would be good enough. There was also your makeup and lotion… But you could always buy some there, right? Pondering this for a few minutes, you shrugged before yanking out a medium-sized makeup bag and piled all your scented lotions into it.

After long, tiring hours of packing and an okay, lukewarm dinner, you wasted a few hours watching TV. Sighing after a long day, you stretched lightly headed to your bedroom to grab an extra change of clothes before to the bathroom. After a relaxing shower, you dried your hair quickly before falling asleep.

-X-

Unfortunately for you, the rest of the week passed by in, more or less, the same manner. On Friday, you gathered your things and dressed quickly, wearing a pair of sunglasses and a nice fedora from American Eagle, using the rim to shield your face.

Passport in hand, you bid a quick goodbye to your manager before boarding the plane. The attendants made no commotion or excitement about you when you showed them your passport; they merely treated you like everyone else, which you were grateful for. The plane trip went smoothly, and if you weren't mistaken, it was around eleven in the morning, making it an hour or two before lunch time.

Your manager had gotten your pen pal's picture, sine he thought that she was you, when in reality, your manager hacked in – and to this day, you still didn't know how. Anyway, she had given you the picture. He was handsome, you had to admit, and had an unique appearance. With bright maroon, slightly curly (if not wavy) hair and brilliant violet-colored eyes, he wore a cheery grin.

Smiling slightly, you studied the image to memory before boarding off the plane, your suitcase and rolling bag in hand; the makeup bag clipped on top of the bag, safely as to ensure that it would not fall off. You had taken off the fedora and sunglasses a long time ago during the plane trip; fortunately, most if not all people minded their own business and only a few had the nerve to bother you for an autograph.

As you stepped out into publicity, you looked around cautiously before relaxing and strolling along the plane; like in the airplane, most everyone was minding their own business. You looked around as you tried to spot the bright-haired male. With no luck, you stuck to walking around.

* * *

Marui sighed as he plopped down on a bench. Spreading his legs and relaxing, he was oblivious to the dirty looks he received from others as he took up as much space as his lean form allowed him too. He had waited twenty minutes for his pen pal to arrive, and with no idea on how you even looked like, he had little to no idea how he could find you.

And he was a genius; why did he have to wait anyway. Never mind that he was early to begin with, due to the insistent nagging of his mother…

Sighing again, he closed his eyes, trying to think of another way in finding the girl.

Meanwhile, you frowned slightly as you ran a hand through your hair. Who knew finding someone would be so difficult; then again, it was an airport, so it was somewhat to be expected. Sighing in slight exasperation, you were about to just sit around and give up when you spotted a mop of red hair resting against the bench.

Smiling, you silently approached him. Stopping in front of him, you softly inquired, "Excuse me?"

Marui's eyes fluttered open as he heard a soft voice, only to widen in shock and disbelief. You smiled softly as you held a hand out to him, in which he nearly missed the action as he had yet to recover. (. - your position based on Marui's point of view and clothes. Replace the hair color/length and eye color with your own.)

"You…" He managed to choke out, taking your hand hesitantly. Laughing softly, you pulled him up before bowing, "I'm [Last Name], [First Name]. I thank you for letting me stay with you."

"But you're… You're _the_ [Last Name], [First Name]! I have, practically, all your songs!" He exclaimed softly – you know, since he was a genius, he knew that if he was loud, he would attract unwanted attention – as he took her bag from her, despite her silent protests.

"Aha, I didn't think I'd be so popular in Japan," You gave him a closed-eye smile, scratching your cheek awkwardly. "You see, my manager found out that I had more fans in Japan than America, so they assigned me to tour here," You explained as the redhead hailed a taxi.

"Heh, well, you're welcome to stay with me! My family didn't mind so it shouldn't be much of a problem," He grinned as he slid in after the girl, the cab driver placing her things in the trunk.

"Oh, would you rather get home and unpack or spend the day touring? With me as your tour guide of course!" Marui grinned proudly as he popped his gum.

"Mm, I think I'll unpack for now. Though, I'd like to take you up on that offer tomorrow, maybe?" You suggested, looking at him curiously.

He chuckled, "Ah, sure."

The rest of the cab ride was joyfully getting to know each other, despite the information already exchanged through previous emails. Both of you enjoyed each other's presence and company, and you had good laughs at Marui's experiences with his tennis teammates.

"Ah, by the way, what school are you going to?"

"Eh… I'm not sure. My manager was the one who set everything up… Reasonably, I'll probably go to yours." You smiled, thanking him as he took a bag out, and you grabbed your suitcase before following him up the steps to the front door of his home.

"Hey…"

You paused and looked up at your friend curiously as he turned to look at you, a sheepish grin plastered to his face. "My family might… get a little out of hand, what with you being famous and all. So, I'm just warning you…"

"Ah, yeah, thanks for the heads-up. But, I guess you can say that I get the same reaction mostly every time, so I should be prepared." You smiled encouragingly, and he grinned back before opening the door.

"Okaeri! She's here!"

There was a soft padding of footsteps, and a woman who you could only assume as Marui's mother, walked into the room.

"Oh!" Her mouth opened to a small 'o' shape in recognition, before ushering you to come in and for her son to close the door. Still gripping the suitcase, you bowed politely, "Thank you very much for having me here. I'm [Last Name], [First Name]."

"My, such polite manners! I hope you do enjoy your stay here." She turned, stating something about getting a snack while you made yourself comfortable, "It'll be so nice to have you here! Bunta, dear, help her with her bags and show her the room she'll be staying at. I'll be right back with snacks; you must be tired from the long trip!"

Her voice faded as the distance grew between the two females and you smiled brightly, turning to your friend, "Your mother's really nice!"

"You haven't seen her when she throws a fit," He grumbled and you had to laugh to yourself as he headed to the stairway, "C'mon, I better show you your room before she _does_ have one."

Following him, you opened the door and gasped slightly. The room was small but in a cozy manner. The walls were decorated with simple, empty shelves and there was many dressers and a desk in the corner. The windows were some distance away from the bed and the covers were absolutely beautiful made of fine silk.

"It's beautiful." You murmured as you set your suitcase to the ground.

He grinned, a mixture of pride and the usual cheer he had. "This is what my genius came up with through the information our emails gave me. My mother insisted on the information so she could buy the necessary supplies."

"It must've cost a fortune…" You murmured, still in awe as you turned to look at him. He shook his head, "'Kaa-san was extremely excited to have a girl here when she heard you were coming. So, she went out to buy everything. I don't think it was much of a problem."

"But still… I should go thank your mother properly after I finish unpacking." You stated sincerely as you reached forward to unlock your suitcase.

"Need any help?" Marui offered.

You smiled brightly, shaking your head, "I think I can handle it. Besides, I don't want you to be stuck doing anymore; you've already helped me out a lot."

He shrugged nonchalantly, "Yeah, well, I'll use any excuse to get out of Sanada's training."

You sweatdropped, smiling nervously, "Well, if you say so… Though, the only stuff I really brought were my clothes."

He blinked owlishly, staring at you questioningly, "[First Name]-chan, I mean [Last Name]-chan, don't you know that your manager already sent us your things?"

You laughed out loud at the formality, "Please, call me [First Name]-chan; technically we've been friends for five years." Your smile faded as you looked around the room, "And I don't see anything…"

Shrugging once more, he opened the closet door for you to see three large boxes. Your eye twitched slightly before you muttered darkly, "My manager has everything so organized, it's creepy."

Unfortunately for you, your housemate heard you and let out a slight laugh. Sighing, you directed, "Ah, if you want to help, my books should be in one of the boxes, so if you'll set those up onto the shelves for me…"

Nodding, he set to work as you organized through your clothes. Your comfortable clothes and weekend clothes went into the large four-drawer cabinet with the shirts separated and the pants in a single drawer; the bottom one empty for your all your shoes. You set your casual clothes into four drawers of the wider, double cabinet with three drawers each, and fit your formal weal into the bottom two. Stepping around Marui, you crammed your dresses and stage/performing clothes into the closet.

Wiping a hand across your forehead, you turned to look at your helper. He was currently flipping through your songbooks and you grinned playfully before silently walking over and yanking out of his hands.

"Hey!" He protested.

You shook your head, an amused smile on your lips, "Nope! Some of the new songs in my concert this next weekend are in here. I can't help you ruin the concert before you go." Pausing, you corrected yourself, "That is, _if_ you go."

"Of course!" He grinned cheekily, but did not make a grab to look through the book again. Setting it on your desk, you shook your head in amusement before unpacking the rest of the books in the box.

"Man, you have so much manga! I didn't know you had time to read them." Marui exclaimed as he opened the second box. "Oh look! You have video games too! Is that the Playstation II?"

You chuckled nervously, "Yeah, well, I'll squeeze it in somehow. Yes, that is my Playstation II; I happen to play a lot of video games in my free time. I'm still eighteen, and not as many fans in America still leave me with free time, despite popular belief."

"'Kingdom Hearts?'" He stated, glancing back at you in confusion and you mock-gasped.

"Oh my…! You don't know what Kingdom Hearts is!? Poor, _poor_ soul." You grinned, "It's like the best video game ever. Let's hook it up after--"

There were two knocks on the door before the door swung open. You smiled at the sight of Marui's mother, before taking the tray from her. She smiled back and Marui straightened himself from his crouched position.

"Sorry it took so long; I made you guys some lunch." She motioned to the tray with clean-cut sandwiches and juice. She then looked around the room, satisfied. "It looks like you're coping well with your room. I do hope you like it."

Your eyes widened before hastily bowing, "Ah, yes! It's absolutely wonderful! Though, I feel bad for you to go through so much trouble…" You trailed off.

She laughed, covering her mouth with a petite hand, "Oh no, it was no trouble at all. We wanted to welcome you as best as we could. Well, I better get going. I'm sure you're tired and want to finish unpacking."

"Thank you for the food."

She nodded, smiling warmly, before closing the door. Marui smirked smugly as he crossed his arms, "See? I told you it was no trouble. You can't defy a genius."

"Right," You rolled your eyes, but the snobby-like action was ruined by the amused smile on your lips. You spent another hour finishing up your room before taking a break and enjoying your lunch.

After, you took the empty glasses and plates before stacking them onto the tray and opening the door. Marui took the boxes before the two of you made your way downstairs. Upon entering the kitchen, you blinked owlishly at the sight of Marui's grandmother and two kids. You opened your mouth in slight protest when Marui's mother took the tray out of your hands.

It was then when Marui's grandmother beckoned you over and you met the rest of his family sans his father. But you met him during around suppertime. Marui's mother and grandmother refused for you to help around the house, since you were a guest, and you firmly stood on your decision to then at least wash the dishes.

They reluctantly agreed; though everyone had good laughs when Marui's father entered the household amidst of the fight. It was then when you cheerily introduced yourself, before he burst into laughter and going on about how "Everyone in Japan knows who you are! There's no need in introducing yourself!" It seems that the optimistic, cheerful nature ran in the family.

Marui grinned sheepishly as you murmured this with a small smile. All in all, it was an enjoyable, and tiring, day. It was after a light dinner, regardless of everyone's attempts for you to eat more – you promised them that you would eat more tomorrow – you bid everyone a goodnight before preparing yourself to sleep.

The plane ride really killed you and crossing the International Date Line really screwed up your schedule. Not to mention, you spent more hours on the plane staring out the window and listening to your iPod, rather than sleeping. After a good day, you had a good night's of sleep.

**

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A/N:

If something happens to this story, HoshixXxHikari080 will repost this exactly, only with an OC than 'you' and will continue this from then on. 


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